876 



EXPERIMEyTAL FARMS 



7 GEORGE V, A. 1917 



HOME-GROWK VERSUS IMPORTED SeED. 



In addition to the vegetables previously reported on, Brussels sprouts, celery, 

 cucumbers, muskmelons, watermelons, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, and leeks were 

 tested, but, owing to the unfavourable season, did not become sufficiently advanced to 

 make satisfactory tests. 



OENAMENTAL GARDENING. 



THE ARBORETUM. 



All the more hardy kinds of trees and shrubs made a vigorous growth, due to the 

 abundance of moisture in the soil. A part of the season's growth was frozen back on 

 some trees by the unusually severe, early September frosits. The amount of damage 

 can only be fully determined when the buds begin to swell in the spring. 



Experimental work has consisted in testing ^ut different kinds of trees and shrubs. 

 Forty-eight kinds are under trial, with a total of 371 varieties. No protection is 

 afforded the trees, and artificial watering is not practised. 



The flowering shrubs were a particularly interesting feature of the arboretum. 

 A continuous bloom was maintained from early spring until quite late in the summer. 

 Spiraea arguta was in bloom on May 10, and continued blooming for a month. By 

 May 21, the Missouri Currants were flowering. Some varieties of the Oaragana were 

 in bloom by May 25. June was the month for the lilac, and honeysuckle. Twenty-nine 

 varieties of lilac are under test. The Syringa chinensis (Rouen lilac) bore from thirty 

 to forty large clusters of flowers. The Syringa villosa^ and Syringa Josihaea are (luite 

 hardy, and bloomed freely. Of the varieties of common lilac, the Congo proved to 

 have the most bloom. 



HEDGES. 



Twenty-one different kinds of hedges have been set out with a view to determining 

 the most ornamental, and most useful kinds. The laurel-leaved willow, white spruce, 

 lodge pole pine, and Josika's lilac have grown splendidly. The Caragana arhorescenS 

 has proven to be very hardy, and has been extensively used on the Station. The young 

 plants growing up around the base of the tree give a dense bottom, and the numerous 

 branches provide an almost impassible hedge and a splendid wind-break. 



HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. 



The border of perennial flowers was augmented by the addition of a collection of 

 iris received from the Brandon Experimental Farm, and a number of plants of various 

 kinds that had been grown in the seedling beds on the Station. 



Scott. 



